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After winning the Copa America 2021 title, Argentina superstar Lionel Messi looks set to sign a new contract with Barcelona. The 34-year-old's current contract with the Blaugrana expired at the end of last month, which has led to immense speculation over his future.
Lionel Messi is, however, keen to extend his stay with the club and lead it through a transitionary phase under Dutch manager Ronald Koeman.
During his illustrious Barcelona career, Lionel Messi has played 778 games and scored an extraordinary 672 goals in all competitions. Messi has helped Barcelona win ten La Ligas, seven Copa Del Reys and four Champions Leagues during his 17 years with the club.
The forward has been Barcelona's talisman for nearly two decades and still possesses the quality and ability to lead the club to silverware in the near future.
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Barcelona have spent large sums of money to sign superstars to partner Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou over the years. These superstars have often formed formidable partnerships with the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, which has helped Barcelona win trophies galore.
However, these players have at times been overshadowed by the brilliance of Lionel Messi. The six-time La Liga Best Player winner is undoubtedly the main man at Barcelona. Barcelona's attacks normally revolve around the Argentine forward, which has led the club to buying players that help bring the best out of Messi.
A number of players have been unable to live in the shadow of Lionel Messi, and have therefore sought moves away from the club. On that note, let's take a look at five players who were overshadowed by Lionel Messi at Barcelona:
#5 Antoine Griezmann
The Frenchman has arguably been one of Barcelona's worst signings in recent history. Prior to signing for Barcelona, Antoine Griezmann was widely considered as one of the top five players in the world. The Catalan giants signed him up for €120 million in the summer of 2019 from Atletico Madrid.
Griezmann often played the role of a sole striker, no.10 or a second striker during his time at Atletico Madrid. Due to the presence of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, Griezmann was made to play as a right winger during his first season with Barcelona.
The World Cup winner struggled to settle at Barcelona and scored just nine goals in La Liga in his debut season with the Spanish giants. Despite rediscovering his goal-scoring touch, Griezmann has been unable to come out of the shadow of Lionel Messi during his time at Barcelona.
The 30-year-old has struggled to replicate the form he displayed while at Atletico Madrid and is currently being linked with a return to Diego Simeone's side. Barcelona are desperate to get Griezmann's wage bill of their books, and are reportedly negotiating a swap deal with Atletico Madrid, which will see Griezmann join the La Liga champions in exchange for Saul Niguez.
#4 David Villa
David Villa joined Barcelona from Valencia in the summer of 2010 on the back of a 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign, where he scored five of his country's eight goals at the tournament. The Spaniard was his country's talisman at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008 as well and was expected to form a formidable partnership with Lionel Messi in attack at Barcelona.
Villa scored 48 goals in 119 appearances for Barcelona during his three seasons with the club. Despite winning two La Ligas, a Copa del Rey and a Champions League during his time with Barcelona, Villa often played second fiddle to Lionel Messi.
David Villa was sold to Atletico Madrid for just €5 million in the summer of 2013. That was because Barcelona were unable to get the best out of the Spaniard during his time with the club due to the presence of Lionel Messi.
#3 Alexis Sanchez
When Barcelona signed Alexis Sanchez from Udinese for €26 million in 2011, the Chilean was still a raw talent but had the potential to develop into one of the brightest young players in Europe.
Sanchez's dribbling, pace, work-rate, goal-scoring and versatility made him a massive asset for Barcelona during his three years with the club. After taking time to settle at Camp Nou, Sanchez quickly became one of the club's main goal-scorers.
He scored 19 goals in 34 La Liga appearances in his final season with the club, and was arguably ready to become the main man at Barcelona. The Chilean was, however, denied the chance to shine due to the presence of Lionel Messi, and was sold to Arsenal in 2014 for £32 million.
Sanchez went on to become one of the best players in the Premier League during his time with Arsenal, where he was given the chance to become the club's star player.
#2 Neymar
Neymar was arguably one of Barcelona's best signings in recent history. The Brazilian superstar was groomed to take over the reins from Lionel Messi at Barcelona. Neymar, along with Messi and Suarez, formed one of the most formidable attacking trios in the game.
During his four seasons with the club, Neymar scored 105 goals in just 187 appearances in all competitions. He helped the club win two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys and a Champions League.
Despite being happy while at Barcelona, Neymar was never the main man at the club. PSG spent €222 million to sign the Brazilian from Barcelona in the summer of 2017, a record transfer that shocked the football world.
Neymar joined PSG in the hope that he would be able to lead the club into a new era, and step out of the shadow of Lionel Messi.
#1 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Barcelona signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan in exchange for £59 million and Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o. Ibrahimovic was one of the most lethal strikers in Europe and the main man at Inter Milan prior to his move to Barcelona.
Despite boasting an impressive record during his sole season with Barcelona, Ibrahimovic endured a fractured relationship with Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola. The two were not on speaking terms during Ibrahimovic's final days with the club.
Following Barcelona's semi-final defeat to Inter Milan in the Champions League, Ibrahimovic revealed how he confronted Pep Guardiola in the dressing room.
"I yelled, 'You haven't got any balls!' and worse than that I added, 'You can go to hell!' I completely lost it, and you might have expected Guardiola to say a few words in response, but he's a spineless coward. He just left, never to mention it again, not a word', said Ibrahimovic.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic revealed in his autobiography 'I am Zlatan', that Lionel Messi's insistence on playing through the middle rather than as a right winger led to the Swede's decline at Barcelona.
Messi was the focal point of Barcelona's attack. That led to Ibrahimovic moved to the flanks.
